NYT on McCain: Forest, Anyone?

The New York Times is after John McCain (again). Michael Cooper writes in his March 19 story:

Mr. McCain said several times in his visit to Jordan — in a news conference and in a radio interview — that he was concerned that Iran was training Al Qaeda in Iraq. The United States believes that Iran, a Shiite country, has been training and financing Shiite extremists in Iraq, but not Al Qaeda, which is a Sunni insurgent group. …

It was not until he got a quiet word of correction in his ear from Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, who was traveling with Mr. McCain as part of a Congressional delegation on a nearly weeklong trip, that Mr. McCain corrected himself.

So the chip of bark is that McCain made a minor misstatement about which terrorists Iran is training in Iraq.

But, while the Times has consumed forests of newsprint through its years, neither that paper nor either of the Democrats running for president seem prepared even to glance at this forest:

“…Iran… has been training and financing Shiite extremists in Iraq…”

How exactly does that qualify as anything other than an act of war by Iran against the United States?

Meanwhile, McCain has glanced at the forest and smelled the smoke from the fire raging within it. Unfortunately, I suspect that, if elected president, his response would be either to busily pump up his squirt gun — or to try to douse the flames with American bodies. Neither approach is sane, but there is another alternative.

One thought on “NYT on McCain: Forest, Anyone?”

First of all Shiite Iran has been quite comfortable in openly supporting Sunni Hamas and Sunni Palestinian Islamic Jihad for some time. In addition, it also has been known, since it is mentioned in the 9/11 commission report that Iran has had numerous contacts and interactions with Al-Qaeda, going back to the 90s, as well as joint training at Hezbolla’s Lebanon camps. In terms of Iraq two recent reports, one from AEI, one by the Claremont Institute’s Thomas Jocelyn show the extent of Iranianian involvement in Iraq and it is not limited to Shiites.

This is just another in a series of acts of war against the United States. A proper President would have responded long ago.